In a historic victory for Irish language campaigners in Northern Ireland, the UK Government today repealed an almost 300 year-old statute prohibiting the use of non-English languages in the jurisdiction’s courts.
The Administration of Justice Act 1737 makes specific reference to banning “any other tongue or language whatsoever” and has long been seen as a major barrier to achieving language parity across the island of Ireland.
Though the law was repealed in 2022 as part of the Identity and Language Act, it did not come into full effect until today. Similar laws were repealed in England, Scotland and Wales during the 19th Century, and it’s thought its continued usage in Northern Ireland has been used to stoke sectarian division.
Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, President of Conradh na Gaeilge, welcomed the decision saying that the Administration of Justice Act’s repeal marked: “An incredibly historic moment for the Irish language community here in the north.
“[It is a] major victory against centuries of exclusion and discrimination and testament to the power and resolve of our community.
“Whilst similar legislation was repealed in Wales, Scotland and the south long, long ago, once again, Irish speakers in the north were, as always, left behind, as an ongoing legacy of colonial policy designed to eradicate the Irish language from all vestiges of public life.
“The Irish language must have equal status in all of our public and shared spaces. That is what equality looks like. Now that this penal-era ban has finally been repealed, it is up to the Executive to ensure the provision underpinning Irish speaking rights in our legal arenas are based on best-practice and equality.”
Representing members of the Irish language community across various facets of civic life, solicitor Niall Murphy said that it was incumbent upon Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long to ensure “robust guidelines that recognise the ever-growing community of Irish speakers across our society and facilitate their inclusion in our legal services and spaces.”
He said: “This announcement from the British government is a major milestone in the ongoing journey towards comprehensive language rights for Irish speakers in the north.”